Free Republic

It was free but sickening. Ambulances responded multiple times Tuesday to the same West Side neighborhood after at least seven people became ill after taking freebie bags of heroin, Chicago Police said. Police think the heroin was being offered in the 1400 block of West Hastings. Victims told authorities that they received free heroin in orange baggies and had taken it before getting sick. At least one victim was found passed out with his fists clenched, police spokesman Pat Camden said. It's unclear what was wrong with the heroin, although one possibility is it was more pure than what the...

< VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Just over the United States northwest border, addicts will soon be able to get their fix from the Canadian government in the form of free heroin (search) administered by nurses and doctors on the taxpayer's dime. "They're using heroin. They'll continue to use heroin. What we're trying to do is prevent them from getting something irreversible like HIV, hep [hepatitis] C and overdose death,” said Dr. Martin Schechter, the director of the heroin program. Vancouver is the first city to take part in the North American Opiate Medication Initiative, which plans to enroll 470 participants...